By Design - Fall 2018

RESORT DESIGN 12 | By Design Unlike a typical members club with a base of regular customers, resort golf courses cater primarily for occasional visitors. Does this necessitate a different approach to design? Toby Ingleton spoke with ASGCA members to find out. W hat exactly do we mean when we use the term ‘resort course’? Yes, it’s a golf course located at a resort. But we’re usually inferring something else: a golf experience that is appropriate for those in vacation mode. And by that, read ‘easy.’ After all, if your days are spent lounging by the pool, why would you want anything other than pure relaxation on the golf course? But that’s not how golf course architects think. “We reject the notion that a resort course has to be gentler or ‘dumbed down,’” says Chad Goetz, ASGCA, a design associate at Nicklaus Design. “While no one wants to get beat up on the course on vacation, the golf needs to be interesting, strategic and fun. “What golfer would want to return to a resort where the golf was watered down or boring? Therefore, like all of our work, we strive to incorporate good variety, shot values and interest.” Brandon Johnson, ASGCA Associate, of Arnold Palmer Design Company, agrees. “Players today are much more sophisticated, interested in and appreciative of fun, creative and inspiring architecture, independent of whether it’s a resort, private club or public access setting,” he says. resort best The